464 
CLVII. GRAMINEiE (Stapf). 
[. Digitaria . 
over 1 lin. long ; blades narrowly linear, tapering to a fine point, 
6 to 8 in. by 1-1 \ lin., slightly rigid, flat, glabrous, smooth or the 
margins scaberulous upwards ; ’midrib very slender, lateral nerves 
numerous, very fine and close, the primary hardly distinct. Racemes 
6-15, sessile, subdigitate or racemosely arranged on a slender 
angular common rhachis (up to 2 in. long), very slender, erect or 
suberect, 3-6 in. long, somewhat loose ; rhachis filiform, lin. 
wide, triquetrous, almost straight, angles ’ very finely marginate, 
internodes 1J-2 lin. long ; pedicels 2-nate, finely filiform, angular, 
scaberulous, very unequal, the longer up to over 1 lin. long. Spike- 
lets loosely subappressed, not or only slightly imbricate, lanceolate- 
oblong, acute, f-|| lin. by § lin., pale green or brownish, apparently 
glabrous .yy Lower glume a very minute delicately hyaline scale, 
'soon disappearing ; upper oblong-lanceolate, equalling the spike- 
let, finely 5-nerved, with 4 very fine lines of appressed hairs (2 in 
the innermost spaces on both sides of the middle-nerve and 2 marginal), 
hairs extremely fine, straight or the obtuse tips curled, f-J lin. long. 
Lower floret : valve in shape and size corresponding to the spikelet, 
very thin, 7-nerved, nerves fine but prominent, with very fine lines 
of appressed hairs between the 2 inner lateral nerves of each half 
and along the margins, hairs as in the upper glume ; valvule and 
lodicules very minute. Upper floret lanceolate, acute, as long as the 
spikelet, pale to slate-colour, thinly chartaceous, margins of valve 
not meeting. Anthers § lin. long. — Panicum nigritianum, Hack, in 
Oest. Bot. Zeitschr. 1901, 293; Durand & Schinz, Consp. FI. Air. 
v. 756. 
Upper Guinea. Southern Nigeria : Brass River, Barter ! 
Hackei quotes a variety or form (unnamed) from Stanley Bool collected by 
Buttner. i have not seen it. It is said to have bearded nodes and hairy 
leaves. There is little doubt that it corresponds to D. ; polybotrya , described 
above. 
33. D. debilis, Willd. Enum. Port. Berol. 91. Annual. Culms 
ascending from a geniculate or prostrate and rooting base and 
branched from it or all along, rarely more or less subsimple, 1-2 ft. 
high, primary culms many-, secondary usually 6-noded, moderately 
slender, glabrous, upper 1 or 2 internodes by far the longest. Leaf- 
sheaths somewhat loose, thin, glabrous or the lower more or less 
softly hairy and slightly keeled ; ligules membranous, rounded, 
J-l'J lin. long ; blades linear from an equally broad or more or less 
contracted and rounded base, long-tapering to a slender point, 
the lower usually not much over 1 in. by 1-14 lin., the upper up to 
4 in. by 3 lin., but usually smaller, flat, somewhat plump, flaccid, 
glabrous or softly hairy to almost tomentose, margins often wavy 
or crisp, rough, midrib slender, lateral nerves very fine. Racemes 
usually 5-11, sessile, subdigitate on a slender angular scabrid common 
rhachis (J-lf in. long), slender, suberect or obliquely spreading, 
